BRM Italia Australian Championship 2018 - Podium Results

The FPR 1/32 Slot.it Group C Championship 2018

The new BRM tyre compound - information

Hi , we recently have been using the new BRM E25M tyre at FPR.

It has produced excellent traction.

However there are a few requirements to take the benefits of the maximum traction they offer.

1. A smooth surface track is best for most BRM tyres. They work on rough surfaces but not to maximum traction.

2. A clean surface free of any dust or ‘Marbles” left from other types of tyre being used in previous races.

This is due to the tyres ’Sticky’ surface it produces when working at its best traction . It will pick up dust and particles from produced by tyre wear.

This is a standard happening with any tyre that has a adherent surface.

We used to get the same occurrence in the days of Indy Grip silicon tyres .

3. So particle pick up could be experienced if the track has particles on the skirts of the track and the car takes an excursion out into the “Marbles”

It may take a few laps to dislodge the particles .

So far this has not seemed to inhibit the performance - but it could.

This is an occurrence similar to full size car racing. But in full size racing it seems to be more of a

problem when cars get off line - as pointed out many times by race commentators .

4 if using the E25M I suggest the track surface be vacuumed prior to the practice & race program starting . We do this at FPR and don’t seem to have too many particle pick up problems .

5. Using a class like Scale Auto with MJK tyres prior to running cars with BRM ( or other rubber tyres) can cause a temporary loss of traction. This is because of the Urethane tyres

removing the BRM conditioning on the track surface.

Also the Urethane tyres leave dust traces on the surface.

After a heat or two with just BRM or the rubber tyres the surface will be reconditioned

and maximum traction will return for the BRM & rubber tyres .

This problem has been discovered at other raceways using a mix of rubber & urethane tyres consecutively .

So the suggestion is to run the Urethane tyre classes after the BRM or rubber tyre classes are concluded.

The situation does vary with some classes unaffected by running urethanes prior to rubber tyres

Alternatively we do run 4 track cars fitted with BRM tyres for a few minutes before

the following class with BRM ( or other rubber tyres ) is run.

The Urethanes seem to enjoy more traction when running on a track after BRM tyres being used.

6. The new BRM tyre also needs a run in period of about 200 laps on average. Some cars bring the tyre to

maximum traction very quickly but others can take a fair bit of running to get maximum traction.

The traction seems best when both tyres have a sheen on the surface and the surface is “tacky’ to touch.

7. Heat can affect tyres - so keep them out of any direct sunlight or away from heating devices .

8. All tyres run best after being trued on a tyre lathe. I have found that most tyres run best with a rounded edge

on inner & outer . Rounded with sandpaper on a block so that any edge & sidewall

Run out can be reduced by very light application of the sanding block ,

You can usually fell vibrations in the sanding block if there is edge runout ( and on the tyre track surface )

Before each race heat & while running the BRM tyre s in we use a track sanding bench at each driver’s

console . this is fitted with 300 to 600 grit water resistant sandpaper .

The surface of the sand paper is kept clean & just moist with water from a spray bottle.

Tyres only need to be spun on this for 5 secs or so and this will remove any adhered dust

and return the tyre to full traction

9. With following the above recommendations most cars will exhibit faster lap times with the new BRM tyre .

Hope you enjoy the new compound in the BRM tyres .

FPR DIVISIONAL MEDIAN HANDICAP RACING

FPR Divisional Handicap Racing

Tuesday Nights for round 3 - 2017

The Handicapper and helpers have decided to fine - tune the Median Handicap system.The problem we hope to reduce is the sizeable difference in performance of drivers & also the various cars they race. We cannot completely equalize so there is very close race results over a race of 4 heats.But we hope by doing the following the racing will be very close within the two divisions that are being created. At FPR we strive to have a friendly nights of competitive racing with the opportunity for Podium positions for most drivers.

The issue we have had is that some of the faster drivers can achieve a very low Median time.Because the handicap scales are set to give the slower divers a chance of a podium overall the faster divers can receive a start handicap of 20 seconds or more. This can mean it would be very difficult to catch other competitors in the 2 minute & 20 second heats.

The other aspect was that people at scratch or higher median times would find it difficult to get on the podium as their Median Lap Times did not give them enough leeway to achieve a Podium finish.In an effort to reduce these issues we have decided to split the racers into A & B divisions.

The B division is just that . If you are in B division you can only be the winner of that division. The same applies to the A division. The handicap will be done with a scratch start for the first heat .

There will be two Median Handicap scales for each class One each for division A & B

There will be a nominated Median Handicap time that is the changeover from Division A to B for qualifying .

Once people have qualified they will be allocated their handicap wait times and be listed on either white board depending if the qualified in Division A or B . For instance a class may have a median lap scale from 6.2 seconds – the fastest to 7 seconds for the scratch class time. In this case the change over from A to B divisions may be 6.6 seconds median laps

Bert is working on some scales for this divisional system. The maximum handicap start wait time for each Division should be around 10 seconds.

Thanks to Bert & John (Bear) for discussing this & for doing some work towards getting it up and running.

I hope that the explanation of Divisional handicapping is clear to you.

If you have any questions or suggestions please email me so they can be discussed.

Cheers, John

FPR Class Crossovers 2018

FPR Classes 2018

Notes! On MJK Fridays we have a class for just Scale Auto GT - MJK tyres only & up to 25K & 350g torque motor. we do not run all the classes shown in the bi-monthly MJK Night some rotate from one MJK night to the next. Check the 2016 proposed calendar (separate page) to see the class allocations for Tuesdays & Fridays - also on the calendar are meetings at SSCR, Cove & W.A.R, Raceways .

FPR Car Classes

These are the classes run at FPR. For 2016 Tuesdays the main classes are in the first

box on the table below. The recommendation is to get these cars first if you plan to compete on Tuesdays. But you can work on getting these classes when you are able to as FPR has loan cars for all the main classes. The FPR loan cars are compeditive so there is no urgency to get your own cars for all classes.

Friday night racing will now be all 1/24 scale and one Friday a month. One month will be for MJK brand cars mainly then the next month for the BRM brand mainly.

There is also loan cars for most classes so no hurry to get your own cars.

Here is a reference chart for requirements the FPR Main Classes for 2016

There are 6 of the 1/32 classes and 4 of the 1/24 scale classes in this chart.

So these are the cars for main class racing. However we have loan track cars for all of

these classes until you decide that you will get your own .

Save the image below of the FPR Rules chart to your desktop to make it easier to read.

BRM E22 Tyre Information

Just a few notes about using & preparing the BRM tyres.They are a soft compound - Shore 22 so do need gluing to the rim . To do this I only recommend the Locktite brand of super glue. It is available in liquid or gel.I usually seat the tyre well on the rim fist after checking the rim is running true by spinning very slowly . After I seat the tyres on the rim by filching the bead around the rim I glue the tyres.Usually I glue the inside tyre bead first in each rim. I lift the bead with one hand an put a liberal drop on the rim bead and then let the tyre bead down on to the drop on the rim.This has to be done slowly and carefully so that no glue gets on fingers and that ther is no “splash “ of glue when the bead is released. This is done in four places around the inside bead of each tyre but give a check for trueness after each wheel is done & before the glue is fully set so a correction may be possible but is usually not necessary.Once the glue is set on the inside ( about 5 minutes depending on room temperature) do the same procedure to the outside tyre bead. Once the glue has set I recommend tyres be trued on a true truer. I do this for people without charge if they do not have a truer.Some have developed methods of truing without having a dedicated tyre truer but I have not needed to do that so you could seek other’s advise if you wish to try it.The E22 BRM tyres are best suited to a smooth surface track. They will perform on a Ferrodore type rough surface about equivalent to MJK urethane tyres.They like the smooth surface and actually condition the track surface with some running of cars with BRM tyres. This conditioning on the smooth track also upgrades the MJK tyre traction so they run the BRM conditioning on their surface and perform better as well.To run in and get the BRM tyre to the best condition it takes a bout 300 laps on the smooth surface track . This is combined with water dampened 600 grade wet & dry sanding on a flat pad.The sanding is done about every 20 laps until good grip is obtainedWe then usually wet sand the tyres before each heat of a race for there on.The glue of the bead may have to be redone periodically and should be checked before each race meeting by attempting to lift the tyre beads Hope you enjoy racing at FPR